NBA rumors: Wizards eyeing Raptors Masai Ujiri once again

The Toronto Raptors’ recent decade of success coincides perfectly with the arrival of Masai Ujiri into the team’s plans. After years of mismanagement, Ujiri helped turn them around and make them a champion for the first (and, to this point, only) time in franchise history.

Rather than deciding to pluck some of his top acolytes in an attempt to replicate the magic Toronto has had in the last few seasons, teams have been trying to convince Ujiri to leave the Raptors. So far, he has resisted all of their overtures and stuck around with the Raptors.

That hasn’t stopped the Washington Wizards, who recently fired GM Tommy Shepherd, from trying. According to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com (who was among the first to report the Raptors’ interest in Ime Udoka), some executives around the league believe Ujiri is so frustrated with the last few years that he could bolt Canada altogether.

“Masai (Ujiri) is really, really frustrated,” one GM said. “He’s frustrated with [Fred] VanVleet also, because he hasn’t shown him any indication that he wants to stay. So I think he’s really down about that situation… There’s a lot they have to get done there. It didn’t surprise anyone that Nick moved on.”

Will Masai Ujiri stay with the Toronto Raptors?

Ujiri going to Washington would be strange. Not only have the Raptors finished with a better record than them in all but one of the last eight seasons, but his decision to remove Nurse and start looking for a new head coach shows a commitment to turning the Raptors around.

Washington has been eyeing Ujiri for years, with the first rumblings of Masai leaving starting way back in 2019 after they won the championship. Ujiri signed an extension with the Raptors before the 2021-22 season, elevating him to a new role with responsibilities beyond player personnel.

Ujiri’s new role is not just on the basketball end of things, as he is the vice chairman and president of the team. This puts him in the brain trust of the organization on all levels. Unless Washington offers a similar deal, it will be hard for him to leave town and go to America.

Ujiri being frustrated with the team is not news. In fact, he told fans as much in his media availability when discussing the state of the team. To entice him, the Wizards need to give Ujiri an offer that is so eye-watering and indulgent that he would be a fool to deny it.